Client review excerpts: "A Jedi master in the legal justice system"; "took the time and effort to treat me like a human being"; "a great attorney who is passionate about what he does"; "caring and still a bulldog in court"; "a lawyer that never quits".

Jon defends in the state and federal courts in Fairfax, Northern Virginia, and beyond, including courts in Fairfax City, Arlington, Falls Church, Alexandria, Prince William and Loudoun County. Criminal defense is about defending people and upholding civil liberties. Se habla espa±ol. On parle fran§ais.

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NOTE: CASE RESULTS DISCUSSED IN THIS BLOGÂ DEPEND UPON A VARIETY OF FACTORS UNIQUE TO EACH CASE, AND DO NOT GUARANTEE OR PREDICT A SIMILAR RESULT IN ANY FUTURE CASE UNDERTAKEN BY OUR LAW FIRM.Va. R. Prof. Cond. 7.1(b).

When I mentioned that I had let my national membership in the National Lawyers Guild lapse while continuing my local membership -— due to my sharp differences with the national leadership —- Peter pointed out that one thing he likes about the Guild is that among Guild members, he does not need to explain himself. On an individual basis, I tend to warm to Guild members much more than the exasperating policies and statements some of them make and support as a group, including the leadership’s supporting shoe throwing, the organization’s refusal to take a comprehensive stance against violence, and the organization’s repeated knee-jerk statements and policies against Israel without condemning violence from Hamas and elsewhere among Palestinians.

During law school, had I known more Guild folks like Peter Erlinder and Mark Goldstone, law school would have been a more pleasant place where I could have kept things in better perspective rather than dwelling on how inhuman and cold too much of the experience felt in terms of caselaw and statutes, many law students, and many law professors and administration members.

Last week, Peter got arrested upon his arrival in Rwanda , where he traveled to assist one or more clients charged with genocide there. Rwanda criminalizes genocide denial, which may or may not have been influenced by other nations that criminalize denial of Hitler’s holocaust. Certainly, such a law would not pass Constitutional/First Amendment muster in the United States. Outside of the United States, it is dangerous and bizarre for governments to arrest and otherwise suppress lawyers for advocating their criminal defense clients’ positions, which is what is happening with Peter’s arrest and continued detention.

Had the Rwandan government merely refused Peter entry to the country and kicked him out, that would have been bad enough. However, his arrest and continued detention are even more unjustified.

Here is the National Lawyer’s Guild’s press release on the scandalous ongoing detention of Peter Erlinder.

Human Rights First links to an articleasserting that Rwanda's president is a genocidaire whose government is repressing Peter Erlinder as elections approach.

Editorializing that “Mr. Erlinder's views seem foolish, offensive, and ultimately unhelpful to the cause of liberty he claims to champion,” the Wall Street Journal excellently points out that “therein lies the test of the free society: Tolerance of the foolish, the offensive, and even the unhelpful.”

Jon, thank you so much for helping to bring to light Prof. Erlinder's plight. Indeed the government of Rwanda is guilty of grave war crimes and crimes against humanity. That is why they go to extremes to punish someone like Peter Erlinder who had the evidence necessary to inculpate them. [Editor Jon Katz's note: The writer incorrectly listed Jon Katz as the writer of this comment. The only change I have made to this comment is to fix the foregoing error]
At the beginning of May, Prof Erlinder had filed suit in Oklahoma Federal Court against General Kagame's assassination of former President Habyarimana and President Ntaryamira. This is the event that everyone agrees sparked the so-called Rwandan genocide. General Kagame who was attending a graduation ceremony at an Oklahoma university, ran away before the event ended to avoid process of service.
As a Rwandan who knows first hand many people that have been killed by General Kagame's forces, I really thank everyone who is speaking out for Prof. Erlinder's freedom.

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